Dynamo's Davis polished talents, assisted by family

Updated 7:20 pm, Saturday, November 24, 2012

Midfielder Brad Davis had 12 assists during the regular season and added three in the playoffs as the Dynamo surged through the playoffs to reach the MLS Cup final.

Midfielder Brad Davis had 12 assists during the regular season and added three in the playoffs as the Dynamo surged through the playoffs to reach the MLS Cup final.

Photo: Chuck Myers

Dynamo's Davis polished talents, assisted by family

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The kid was having his way and embarrassing his older brother's friends.

He needed to be taught a lesson, so Jeff Davis decided to deliver a hard tackle on his little brother Brad.

In a sign of things to come for Dynamo captain Brad Davis, the defender wound up looking silly. Jeff suffered a gash after his left leg got caught in a drainpipe.

"That pays him back for all the beatings that he gave me down in the basement when we played hockey," Brad said. "He and his friends used to put the couch padding on me and make me play goalie in hockey.

"Then they'd shoot at me. When I started crying, they'd turn the radio real high so my parents wouldn't hear."

Embarrassed by the gash and too scared to seek treatment, Jeff rushed into the house to stop the bleeding and cover the wound.

"I didn't tell my parents because I didn't want to get in trouble," Jeff said. "I didn't want to admit that my brother got me for trying to teach him a lesson for making my friends look silly.

"I ended up going in the house and wrapping it up. I never got stitches or anything, so I have a huge scar now."

Family reunion

The Davis family of St. Louis will gather again Saturday at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., to watch Brad and the Dynamo face the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS Cup final.

Brad, who writes with his right hand but is known as one of the best left-footed players in Major League Soccer, has been kicking a soccer ball since an early age.

As soon as he could keep his balance, he would lean against a table and kick a ball.

"My husband (Harry) would roll him the ball to his left foot so he could kick it with his left foot," Davis' mother Pat said.

Once he could walk, Davis tagged along with his brother. When Jeff wasn't letting Brad play soccer with the older kids in the yard, he'd put him in as a goalkeeper for indoor hockey games.

The sofa cushions didn't provide much protection in hockey, but the soccer matches helped Brad's development.

"When you play with bigger, faster, stronger kids, the play is a little bit different and the pace is different," Brad said. "So when you play with kids your age, you're used to a faster pace."

Jeff's willingness to include his little brother might have also shaped Brad's personality.

"One thing I always remember about Brad is that he always looked out for the kids that weren't included," Pat said. "He always tried to include people that weren't always included, and that made me proud."

That trait has served Davis well on the pitch.

Assists king

Similar to a point guard in basketball, Davis, 31, is always directing traffic and finding open teammates with his passes.

A year after producing 16 assists, he compiled 12 assists this regular season.

He has added three assists in the postseason, including a clever pass with the outside of his left foot at the end line last Sunday to give the Dynamo a crucial 1-0 lead against D.C. United.

Asked if he had considered shooting the ball with his right foot, Davis chuckled and dismissed the thought.

"I never think of shooting with my right," he said half-jokingly.

Nicknamed the left-footed David Beckham because of his precise set pieces, Davis can turn a game around with one free kick, corner kick or pass in the run of play.

Davis has a solid right foot, but his left is so good it makes little sense to use the right.

After all, why mess with what has worked so well in Houston since the Dynamo arrived in 2006?

If Jeff helped mold Brad early on, the All-Star midfielder's wife, Heather, refined him into a complete pro player.

Coming out of Saint Louis University, Davis was picked by the New York MetroStars with the third overall pick in the 2002 SuperDraft.

Despite his immense talent, he was traded again when the Burn sent him to the San Jose Earthquakes before the 2005 season.

He was a key player on the Dynamo's 2006 and 2007 MLS championship squads, but he rarely played the full 90 minutes.

Coach Dominic Kinnear urged him to get in better shape. Davis obliged, with Heather helping him improve his diet and workout routine.

Davis' career took off after he altered his diet in 2008. Thinner and in much better shape, he no longer was pulled from matches in the 70th or 80th minute.

Moreover, he was the Dynamo's MVP in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

He also was the MLS assists leader in 2011 while becoming an MLS MVP finalist.

"Heather really helped me out," he said. "She got in touch with a nutritionist and got me on the right path.

"I felt like I had more to give. I was injured so much. Whenever I was on the field, I was helping the team win. Having talks with Dom and stuff, he was like, 'We need you healthy. Whenever you're healthy, you're helping our team.' I just felt like taking the bull by the horns."